Mexican Primera, 2011 Clausura, Liguilla: Morelia, Monterrey Notch Wins On Thursday Night

Monarcas Morelia have the Mexican Primera’s best away record, and they’re showing why so far. Despite some solid attacks from Club America, they’ve held off the hosts while scoring a goal of their own, and they lead 1-0 at halftime of the first leg of their 2011 Clausura Liguilla clash.

Manuel Perez is the man who scored the goal, putting in a header from a Joao Rojas cross, partially assisted by some sloppy marking from America. America have been the more aggressive team and have created more shots, but their finishing thus far has left something to be desired. Just a couple of minutes before the Perez goal, Vicente Sanchez has a great chance to put his team up, but his shot was cleared off the line.

Monterrey have put together a fantastic performance tonight at home, defeating UNAM Pumas 3-1 in the first leg of their tie in the 2011 Clausura’s Liguilla playoffs. With all of Luis Peres, Aldo De Nigris, Sergio Santana, and Jesus Zavala unavailable, Pumas were expected to be superior to their opponents, especially in the center of midfield. In the end, that was not the case at all, and the Rayados were the better side throughout the proceedings.

The home side held a 2-0 lead at halftime, thanks to goals by Osvaldo Martinez and Walter Ayovi, who both scored on brilliant long range strikes. The Rayados strengthened their lead just after halftime, in the 47th minute, as Humberto Suazo tapped in a Martinez cross. Going into desperation mode, Pumas played slightly better after that. Martin Bravo scored in the 69th minute to give them hope going into the second leg, but they face a serious uphill battle.

According to Kevin McCauley at SB Nation’s Mexican futbol site FMF State of Mind, the absence of two key players could make this just too great a task for Monterrey:

Pumas are a very good side and furthermore they’re in good form and well rested - the CCL Champions will likely have a very tough time even on the home leg. On the plus side, the two sides should be closely enough matched at the Estadio Technologico to give us a close, tense game.

Cruz Azul have secured a 2-1 home win over Atlante to take a small advantage into the return leg of their Ligulla tie this weekend, but they could have had a lead that was considerably bigger. Cristian ‘Chaco’ Gimenez was brilliant on the night, but he missed a penalty in the second half that could have put his team up 3-1. Cruz Azul missed another opportunity to go up late, when Cesar Villaluz missed an absolute sitter from inside the six yard box in the 88th minute.

Atlante scored the opener in the 7th minute, stunning the crowd at Estadio Azul. Picking up a cross from Arturo Muñóz, Giancarlos Maldonado finished hard past Jesus Corona, giving his team a surprising 1-0 lead. He was answered quickly by Chaco Gimenez, though, who hit a thunderous drive into the back of the net from 25 yards out after picking up the ball from Javier Aquino.

Chivas Guadalajara got the best result that anyone has gotten all season against UANL Tigres, defeating them 3-1 at Estadio Omnilife in the first leg of their Liguilla quarterfinal clash. Tigres have not given up three goals at any point this season, so even with Chivas’s improved offense in this tournament, this result will come as a shock to most who follow the Mexican Primera.

Chivas lead 1-0 at halftime, but Tigres quickly brought a goal back, as Jesus Molina scored on a diving header on the corner kick in the 48th minute. The man marking him on the corner was Miguel Ponce, the out of form defender who came in for the injured Jonny Magallon.

Chivas Guadalajara have the lead that they need at home, as they’re up 1-0 on UANL Tigres after the first half of the first leg of their 2011 Clausura Liguilla quarterfinal tie. Tigres seemed content to sit back and wait for Tigres to make a mistake for most of the first half, and that strategy has come back to bite them.

Marco Fabian, who has been in stellar form in this tournament, was the man who set up the goal. Out on the right wing, he absolutely skinned Jose Torres Nilo, Tigres’ talented left back, before putting a floating cross into the box. Omar Arellano, who is known much more for his hold up play and his ability to set up his teammates, was the man who found the ball in the box, and he nodded it in to give Chivas the lead.

Jonny Magallon’s return from injury was short lived. The center back missed the last month with an injury and within 20 minutes he was back off of the field injured. It is a major hit for Chivas who are the eighth seed in the Mexican Primera Liguilla and are trying to upset top-seeded Tigres. The Goats will have to go through the rest of the first leg without Magallon and stop the explosive Tigres attack, while also finding a goal because if they are to knock off Tigres in this two-legged tie they will almost certainly need a win at home tonight.

Miguel Angel Ponce has come on to replace Magallon, a major downgrade for Chivas. Magallon is one of Mexico’s finer defenders, while Ponce has looked nothing of the sort in his time replacing the injured Magallon. This also raises the question about whether Magallon will be back for the second leg. Without Magallon, it’s hard to imagine Chivas getting a result away to Tigres.

It’s the start of the FMF playoffs, and we’re going to kick off with the top-seeded UANL Tigres vs. eighth seed Chivas Guardalajara. We might normally expect the #8 vs. #1 seeds to be something approaching a rout, but things may not be as easy as they seem for Tigres, who are coming off a hugely impressively regular season.

At least, that’s according to Eben Lehman, who runs SB Nation’s Mexican Futbol blog FMF State of Mind. Eben claims that despite the huge difference in results between the sides, Chivas and Tigres actually match up fairly well, having a stout defence and greatly improved attack from the last time the two teams met up (a 0-0 draw at Chivas). Could we see an upset, then? It’s apparently not out of the question.

The Liguilla playoffs for the Mexican Primera’s 2011 Clausura start Wednesday night, and the late game, in particular, is a fantastic matchup. All four ties should be closely contested, as the Liguilla always is in Mexico, but there are a couple of ties that demand attention more than the other two, as the top two seeds both face very strong opposition. C.D. Guadalajara, better known as Chivas takes on UANL Tigres tonight in the late game, right after Cruz Azul takes on Atlante. On Thursday night, CF Monterrey hosts Pumas UNAM and Club America hosts Monarcas Morelia.

Ties in the Mexican Liguilla are home and away aggregate ties. The return legs take place on Saturday and Sunday this week. In the first round, there is no extra time; if the score is tied after 180 minutes, the higher seeded team advances.